MILWAUKEE — Dr. Kristi Streeter, assistant professor of physical therapy in the College of Health Sciences at Marquette University, has received an R01 grant with an expected value of $2.7 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart Lung and Blood Institute to explore a novel treatment strategy to restore diaphragm function following cervical spinal cord injury.
Following a cervical spinal cord injury, paralysis of the diaphragm and other breathing impairments are the primary cause of illness and death. This project will evaluate a novel approach to improve breathing, which involves activating neurons carrying sensory information from the diaphragm. Streeter and her colleagues will investigate the mechanisms that give rise to these improvements and explore the use of diaphragm sensory neurons as a novel treatment strategy.
“At the moment, there are limited treatment options to improve breathing and manage respiratory disfunction in patients with cervical spinal cord injury that go beyond mechanical ventilation,” Streeter said. “Electrical stimulation of the diaphragm, such as diaphragm pacing, is an emerging intervention used to manage breathing impairments in some individuals who fail to wean from the mechanical ventilator. Clinical reports suggest it can promote ventilator weaning but it also shows promise in restoring independent breathing.
“Collectively, our preliminary data and literature reports have led to the fundamental hypothesis that diaphragm sensory neurons are a novel therapeutic target to restore respiratory neural function and improve breathing following cervical spinal cord injury.”
This project will test three hypotheses: First, whether the activation of sensory receptors in the diaphragm — the ones that help coordinate respiratory movements — induce a novel form of plasticity in the nerve that provides motor signals to the diaphragm. Second, researchers will test if sensory neurons are necessary for diaphragm-pacing induced respiratory recovery after spinal cord injury. Finally, it will be determined whether sensory neurons activity is altered by cervical spinal cord injury.
“This is exciting research and NIH’s commitment to Dr. Streeter and her colleagues is a great indication of its potential,” said Dr. William E. Cullinan, dean of the College of Health Sciences. “Breathing impairment after cervical spinal cord injury is a problem with limited treatment options and no cure. This research has the potential to identify a novel target to improve breathing following cervical spinal cord injury and lead to a paradigm shift in the management of breathing insufficiency.”
Streeter is collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues at Marquette, including Dr. Deanna Arble, associate professor of biological sciences; Dr. Allison Hyngstrom, chair and professor of physical therapy; Dr. Marieke Gilmartin, associate professor of biomedical sciences; as well as Dr. Matthew Hodges, professor of physiology at Medical College of Wisconsin, and Anthony Sabel, a consultant providing a lived spinal cord injury prospective.
About the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
NHLBI is the global leader in conducting and supporting research in heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders that advances scientific knowledge, improves public health, and saves lives. For more information, visit www.nhlbi.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health
NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
About Marquette University
Marquette University is a Catholic, Jesuit university located near the heart of downtown Milwaukee that offers a comprehensive range of majors in 11 nationally and internationally recognized colleges and schools. Through the formation of hearts and minds, Marquette prepares our 11,100 undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional students to lead, excel and serve as agents of positive change. And, we deliver results. Ranked in the top 20% of national universities, Marquette is recognized for its undergraduate teaching, innovation and career preparation as the sixth-best university in the country for job placement. Our focus on student success and immersive, personalized learning experiences encourages students to think critically and engage with the world around them. When students graduate with a Marquette degree, they are truly prepared and called to Be The Difference.
